Chapter 216

“As expected by Shí Tīngyǔ, three days after her mother-in-law left, the baby’s sleep returned to normal.

Lù Wèiguó breathed a sigh of relief.

In these first few days of taking care of the baby alone, Shí Tīngyǔ also felt a bit overwhelmed.

Previously, with Lù’s mother’s help, she hardly had to do anything herself. Now that Lù’s mother had left, she was busy.

At the end of each day, she felt like she was doing a lot, yet couldn’t see much accomplishment.

Fortunately, thanks to the Spiritual Spring water, Shí Tīngyǔ’s body had fully recovered.

Lù Wèiguó also noticed this, but he didn’t say anything. Whether he returned home at noon every day or stayed busy, nothing changed.

When Lù Wèiguó wasn’t around, Shí Tīngyǔ would take the baby into the spatial area.

The temperature inside was comfortable, and there was abundant spiritual energy, which benefited the baby greatly.

Usually, when she entered the space, she would activate the scanning function so she could know in advance if anyone was approaching.

This function was extremely useful now.

The little one seemed to like the space a lot and didn’t fuss inside, just enjoyed looking around.

However, since the child was still very young, he mostly lay in the cradle, so his perspective was a bit peculiar.

On this day, Shí Tīngyǔ was cooling off with the baby in the space when the scanning function alerted her that someone was approaching in their direction.

She took the baby out of the space, and sure enough, shortly after, there was a knock on the door.

Shí Tīngyǔ went to open it and was surprised to see Hán Wěi standing there.

Hán Wěi said, “Teacher Shí, there was a call from you to the school just now. Do you have time to come over?”

Shí Tīngyǔ replied, “Okay, let me bring the baby first.”

She invited Hán Wěi in to sit down, then prepared the baby and wondered who could be calling her at this time.

Initially, she had only given the school’s number to the Beijing Art Publishing House.

Was something happening with the publishing house?

Seeing Shí Tīngyǔ come out with the baby, Hán Wěi hesitated with his hand outstretched, “Teacher Shí, should I help carry him?”

A baby weighs quite a bit and it’s really exhausting on such a hot day.

Shí Tīngyǔ smiled, “It’s okay, I’m used to carrying him.”

Hán Wěi withdrew his hand and walked with Shí Tīngyǔ towards the school.

As they walked, Shí Tīngyǔ asked, “Xiao Wěi, how’s teaching at the school?”

Hán Wěi scratched his head, “It’s okay, but when you first left, Teacher Shí, I wasn’t very confident.”

Shí Tīngyǔ thought to herself, he’s still just a child.

“It’s normal. Gain more experience and you’ll improve.”

Hán Wěi nodded. Indeed, he was much better now than when he first started teaching. His voice during lectures wasn’t as shaky as before, and he was becoming more natural in communicating with students.

He glanced at Shí Tīngyǔ as if he had something to say.

Shí Tīngyǔ, always observant, spoke first.

“Xiao Wěi, is there something you want to talk to me about?”

Hán Wěi blushed visibly nervous.

“Teacher Shí, I heard before that you caught a murderer through a portrait. Can I learn that?”

Shí Tīngyǔ hadn’t expected him to have this idea.

“Are you serious?”

Hán Wěi nodded firmly, “Yes, my dad originally wanted me to join the army, but I like painting. Since I learned that painting can also be applied to criminal investigation, there’s been a voice in my heart telling me I’ve found my path.”

He grew up in a military compound, facing soldiers who protected the country every day, and the ideology of defending the country.

But compared to being a soldier, he preferred painting. Now, he had a profession that, while not directly defending the country like a soldier, contributed to public security and allowed him to use his love for painting. He thought it was great.

However, he had little confidence in himself.

He had secretly tried drawing portraits based on descriptions from others, but they didn’t look anything like the person.

It was at this point that he realized how difficult drawing a portrait could be.

Shí Tīngyǔ thought for a moment before saying, “To be able to draw portraits, you must have a solid foundation and accumulate enough experience. With more people drawn, you can find facial patterns.”

“Forensic portraits are mainly based on knowledge of skeletal and muscle anatomy, summarizing the general rules and essential features of portraits. They apply psychology and criminal investigation knowledge, using portrait techniques to depict the most realistic memory images of eyewitnesses. This isn’t something that can be achieved overnight.”

Seeing Hán Wěi somewhat disheartened, Shí Tīngyǔ continued, “Don’t be discouraged. Watch, learn, and practice more. You’ll succeed.”

Hán Wěi nodded, “I’ll practice more in the future.”

Shí Tīngyǔ smiled, “If you have a goal, work towards it. Actually, drawing portraits is quite different from ordinary painting. Ordinary painting pursues artistry and aesthetics, while forensic portraits aim for likeness, so the basics are crucial.”

Hán Wěi took Shí Tīngyǔ’s words to heart.

Most forensic artists come from universities like the China University of Political Science and Law, the People’s Public Security University of China, or police academies. There isn’t a specific major for this yet.

So, the development of forensic artists still has a long way to go.

They continued chatting until they arrived at the school.

The school’s phone was in the principal’s office.

“When Shí Tīngyǔ arrived, Principal Rén happened to be there as well.

Even though it was summer vacation, Principal Rén still came over every day.

Hán Wěi was helping the school with promotional posters, which was why he was at the school during the summer break.

Principal Rén was delighted to see Shí Tīngyǔ. When he saw the baby she was holding, his affection was evident.

He played with the child for a bit, and little Lù Yúnshēn happily smiled, giving face.

Principal Rén was at the age of being a grandfather already, and seeing such a big baby made him envious.

Unfortunately, his own son didn’t have a partner yet.

After looking at the child, Principal Rén said, ‘It seems it’s from the publishing house. I told them to call back later. Why don’t you sit down and rest for a while?’

Shí Tīngyǔ readily sat down.

Seeing that there was nothing else to do, Hán Wěi busied himself.

Shí Tīngyǔ and Principal Rén chatted casually about school matters.

Not long after, the phone rang again.

Principal Rén stood up and left, leaving the space to Shí Tīngyǔ.

Shí Tīngyǔ answered the phone.

The baby tried to reach for the telephone cord when he saw his mother holding the black receiver, but Shí Tīngyǔ managed to avoid his grasp.

At that moment, Editor-in-Chief Luó’s voice came from the other end of the receiver.

‘Teacher Shí, hello, hope I’m not disturbing you.’

Shí Tīngyǔ exchanged a few pleasantries before asking, ‘Is there something specific you’re calling about this time, Editor Luó?’

There was a moment of silence from Editor Luó’s end, and then he spoke, his voice trembling slightly, sounding very excited.

‘Teacher Shí, do you want to go to college?’

Shí Tīngyǔ was momentarily stunned. It was August 10th now, and there were still over two months until the announcement of the resumption of the college entrance examination news on October 21st.

Could Editor Luó have received some information?

‘Did you hear something, Editor Luó?’ Shí Tīngyǔ asked.

Taking a deep breath, Editor Luó said, ‘Teacher Shí, the student’s dawn is coming. If you want to continue preparing for college, now is the time to review.'”